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@uitrit gieten atent @fitta GEORGE N. BEARD, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

Letters .Patent No. 67,707, dated August .13, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN COTTON-BALB TIES.

dige .rlgeml referat tu in these lttters ntent mit mating putt uf tigesmits.'

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY GONCERN:

Be it known that I, GEORGE N. BEARD, of the city and county of St.Louis, and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Iron Tics for BalingBands and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full and clear description thereof, reference being had to thcaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to a metallic tie-piece, pierced with twomortises for the reception of the ends of the bands. One of these endsis to be inserted into its mortise, (previous to the application of theband to the bale,) and then doubled back under the band, and around theside rail of thc tie-piece formed by the mortise perforation. After theband shall have been placed around the bale, the loose end of the bandis to be inserted into the mortise atithe other side of the tie, and thetie-piece drawn as far on to the loose end of the band as the dimensionsof the bale will allow; then, when the press (which shall have held thebale into a compressed state while the bands were being secured inplace) is released, the end ot' the band which was last inserted will,by the expanding force ofthe now released bale, be forced into a shortbend, across the'lower inner corner of the mortise through which thesaid end was inserted. In this Amanner the tie-piece is madeself-adjustable, and the band, not having any perforations, may besecured at any point to which the tie-piece may be drawn. Thisconstruction not only cheapens the band by dispensing with allpcrforations in it, but also increases its strength, and its utility byrendering it applicable to any sized bale.

The details of the construction of the tie-piece will more fully appearfrom the subjoined description of the invention, which will enable thoseskilled in the art to make and use the improved tie. Of the accompanyingdrawings* Figure 1 is a perspective 'view of the tie-piece and portionsof the band ends.

Figure 2 is a plan of the tie-piece.

Figure 3 is a transverse section of the tie-piece taken on the line x 2:of tig. 2.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section taken on the line y y in g. 2. V

The tie-piece A is rectangular in plan, als seen in iig. 2, and ispierced with two mortises, a al, the upper ends of vwhich terminate in acountersunk cavity, a2, that extends from thetop face of the tie-piecedown into the substance of the tie-piece to the extent of one-half totwo-thirds of its entire thickness. The mortises a a.1 are set at anangle of about thirty degrees, moreor less, with the axial line x 1v',seen in g.`3. The perforations a a1 a2 divide the tie-piece A into threelongitudinal rails, c cl c2, the central one of which, c1, is only aboutone-third or one-half the thickness of the end rails c3, and owing tothedivergent directions of the mortises a al, as already described, thetwo bottom corners of the said rail c are formed into `acute angles,over one of which the end of the band last inserted will form a sharpbend, as illustrated by the dotted line B in iig. 3. The section oftheend rails c3 should be somewhat increased-inthe centralparas clearlyshown in figs. 1 and 3. This gives the required amount of strength,where most strength is required, and the reduction of the thickness ofthe central rail cl, as already described, reduces the weight, andconsequently the cost, to the minimum. The corners of the rails c cz,which are adjacent to the mortises a a, should be rounded off somewhat,so as to ease the bend of the band where it passes down into themortise,'and thereby reduce the liability to rupture at that point. l Byplacing the mortises a al somewhat diagonally through the piece A, it isrendered possible to make the said mortises of suiicient width toreceive the thickness of the band, and at the same timetoiplace thelower acute angle of the central rail cl so nearly under the upper angleof the side rail contiguous to it as to render the perfect locking andsecuring of the band, by bending over the two corners of said rails, anabsolute certainty. Both edges of the tie-piece are constructed inprecisely the same shape, so that the tie-piece may be reversed ineither direction.

The tiepiece constructed as above described, the mode of its applicationis as follows: The band B will first be inserted through one of themortises, and then bent backaround the contiguous rail of the tie-piece,and back under the band, thus securing the tie to the band without anycutting, punching, or riveting whatever, and consequently securing theentire strength of the band, and cheapening its production. After theband and tie have been thus united, the band will be placed around thebale while it is yet under the influence of the press, and the tieturned up on one edge, so as to allow the end B to readily enter itsmortise. The tie will then be drawn on to the loose end of the band, asfar as the dimensions of the bale will allow it to go, the end Bunderlying the end B', and confined between it and the bale. When thisposition oi' the band ends and tie Shall have been secured, the presswill be released, and the end Bf will thereby be fo'rced by theexpanding bale to make a. short bend over the acute angle of the centralrail c, and the band will thereby be perfectly and securely lockedaround the bale.

vHaving fnlly described my invention and its application, I claim thetie-,piece A, having a countersunk cavity, az, and two divergingmortises, a al, when applied to andcombined with the baling-bsmd B B',substantially as described and set forth.

G. N. BEARD.

Witnesses:

M. RANDOLPH, GEO. P. HERTHEL, Jr. E

